Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost)

Pope Leo was born on 14th September 1955, in Chicago, USA. He is the second Pope, after Pope Francis, to be from the Americas region of the world. His dad, Louis, was of French and Italian descent and his mum, Mildred, was of Spanish descent. He has two brothers, Louis Martin and John Joseph.

Pope Leo XIV is the first Augustinian pope, having studied first at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers. He went to university in Pennsylvania and has a degree in Mathematics. He also studied Philosophy.

On 29th August 1981, our future pope made his solemn vows. He later studied theology at the Catholic theological Union in Chicago. At the age of 27, he studied Canon Law. On 19th June 1982, he was ordained as a priest.

From 1988 until 1998, the future pontiff worked as a missionary in Peru, South America. He returned to Chicago for some time after, becoming Bishop there in 2015.

His work and unwavering commitment to the church was recognised further in 2015, when on 26th September he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo by Pope Francis. During this time, he served as a member of the Economic Council and president of the Commission for Culture and Education.

In 2023, Pope Francis called him to Rome as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the POntifical Commission for Latin America, becoming Archbishop.He soon after became Cardinal and was assigned as the Diaconate of Santa Monica.

On February 6th 2025, Pope Francis promoted him to the Order of Bishops. three days later, he celebrated the Mass presided over by Pope Frances in St Peter’s Square for the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, the second major event of the Holy Year of Hope.

We look forward to being led by our most recent Pope and pray for him.